Before the party, I was doing report cards. The students saw what I was doing and the trouble makers ran toward me, begging for the grades and asking whether they are going to the 5th grade or not. It was cute. I wasn't supposed to tell so of course I didn't succumb to their cute faces.
Nine year olds are powerful.
There were some letters that stuck out. The first drawing I saw was by Wei Lou, the student with ADD. It was probably the best drawing. I remember he complimented my t-shirt once and he drew me wearing that t-shirt and I just happened to be wearing the same one yesterday. He also drew a fat ass orange nose ring. I thought it was hilarious. Here it is:
He actauly drew Naruto characters surrounding me and him but I guess only Michelle and I would find that awesome. There was also a random Toad in the corner. :)
Jia Ying, the sweetest, most hard-working girl in the class, wrote me the longest letter. At the end she wrote, "P.S. I collected quotes, this is my secret. I wrote them on my calendars. I had found an interesting one today. Listened to this: The best of friends must part!" Ah, the joys of teaching... and I'm not even a real teacher.
This is what Jacky wrote in a part of his letter:
"When I want to go outside you let me go outside and read. I didn't read I was playing with Jia Hui. Thank You!!!!"
Jun Ting, a student who didn't know any English at all at the start of the school year, is the smallest person in the class. They are all in the 4th grade, but their age ranges from 9-11. Some were held back at a younger age or some probably have fake passports from China. lol, jk. Anyway, Jun Ting is really tiny and another student asked her how old she was. She didn't say. I asked her and she looked embarrassed. In her letter, she wrote:
"At the morning you asked me How old are me and now I will telled you, I'm nine years old. And if you telled me when is you birthday or what number are you and I will know how old are you."
A student named Jun Teng (different from the Jun Ting from before) was the one who handed me the packet of letters. I remember the moment he walked up to me and gave it to me. I felt a shiver throughout my body and my eyes began to sting. It wasn't until I was out of the building, walking toward the subway station, when I started really crying. I guess that's it. There are always certain parts of your life that randomly affect you in the biggest ways. I spent more time with those kids than I did with anyone else this past year. And now... I'm probably never going to see them again.
Every day, I walk them to lunch before I leave. We walk in two parallel lines. One line for the girls, one for the boys. Yesterday, there was no line. A group of girls clung on to my arms, hugging me, begging me not to leave as we walked down the 4 flight of stairs. Then there were a few tomboys who strive not to show affection, following me from behind and saying "bye" even after the group of girls left. Finally, one boy- the one who begged for my assistance every day, the one who laughed hysterically at every joke I made, the one who was lazy and never liked to do any thinking, the one who called me "crazy" instead of "Tracy" all year, the one who was obsessed with Chinese boy bands and even started to gel his hair to look hip... that boy. Everyone had gone to the lunch room and I was taking one final look and saying one last good-bye, but when I turned around, he was behind me, leaning against a wall. "Good-bye, Tracy" he said, and he ran toward the lunch room.
I miss my elementary school teachers. I wish I had thier e-mails so I could contact them just to let them know where I am and how I am doing... Just in case they are wondering... Just in case they didn't forget me.
This has been excruciatingly long. Good-bye, good-bye.
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